From the story:

The suit claims Wendy’s missed an Oct. 1 deadline to transition to new technology for card transactions. By failing to switch its systems from a magnetic-stripe to EMV technology, First Choice alleges Wendy’s acted negligently.

This is new technology in the U.S., and it was quickly adopted by national chains that experienced breaches. But not every business has made the switch — and not every payment card issuer has, either. If a data breach occurs at a business that doesn’t have EMV, liability for cards that have EMV chips could fall on the merchant.

“At the most basic level, plaintiffs in data breach lawsuits, whether they are affected employees, consumers, or financial institutions, are alleging that the merchant failed to exercise reasonable care in handling the personal or financial information at issue,” Hollan Chelette said.